Congress attacks Gadkari

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Last Updated: Tue, Apr 10, 2012 17:10 hrs

New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) The Congress Tuesday attacked BJP president Nitin Gadkari and demanded the resignation of his party colleague and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh over a CAG report pointing to lapses in awarding a coal exploration contract to a firm linked to Gadkari's associate and MP Ajay Sancheti.

Congress general secretary B.K. Hariprasad said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president had lost the moral right to speak on corruption.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) "report states clearly that rules were bent and a Rs.1,052 crore loss was caused in allocation of coal block to a person close to BJP president. He has lost the moral right to speak on corruption", Hariprasad said.

He said the CAG report stated that Maharashtra MP Sancheti's firm SMS Infrastructure was favoured in terms of cost for the exploration contract given to it for Bhadgaon II Extension coal block in Chhattisgarh.

The report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, said the state-owned Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corp accepted lower rates for commercial mining of coal blocks in the state which had led to a revenue loss of over Rs.1,000 crore.